Go-cart

Abstract

A four-wheeled recreational vehicle in the form of a go-cart having an open body without doors or windows. The body is formed from interconnected tubular members to define a chassis and frame. The vehicle includes a front suspension having V-shaped, parallel upper and lower control members including forward and rear control arms. The forward control arms are substantially perpendicular to the chassis centerline and the rear control arms incline inwardly and rearwardly from the front wheels. Greater vertical front wheel travel is provided for improved ride comfort and stability over rough terrain. The accelerator and brake pedals are placed closer to the front wheel pivot axis for greater legroom.

1. A compact, powered, four-wheel recreational vehicle having an open structure without doors or windows, said vehicle comprising:
 a) a chassis formed by a plurality of tubular members interconnected to define a rigid body frame, the chassis carrying an engine, a pair of seats, a pair of front wheels, a pair of rear wheels, and operating controls for navigating the vehicle; and 
 b) a front suspension system for supporting the front wheels for vertical movement in response to terrain changes, the suspension system including a pair of parallel, generally V-shaped upper and lower connecting members extending from the chassis to a respective suspension outer support member that rotatable carries a front wheel, each connecting member including a respective forward control arm that lies in a transverse vertical plane that is perpendicular to a vehicle chassis centerline and a respective rear control arm that extends inwardly and rearwardly from the suspension outer support member, wherein outermost ends of the forward and rear control arms are pivotally connected to the suspension outer support member and innermost ends of the forward and rear control arms are pivotally connected to the chassis at a suspension inner support member, and wherein the innermost ends of the upper forward control arms are spaced from the vehicle chassis centerline a shorter distance than the innermost ends of the lower forward control arms. 
 
   
   
     2. A recreational vehicle in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein each rear control arm is a non-linear member. 
   
   
     3. A recreational vehicle in accordance with  claim 2 , wherein each rear control arm includes a bend to define a J-shaped rear control arm, wherein the bend has a center of curvature that lies outwardly of the rear control arm, relative to the vehicle chassis centerline. 
   
   
     4. A recreational vehicle in accordance with  claim 3 , wherein each forward control arm is inclined inwardly and upwardly from the front wheel toward the vehicle chassis centerline. 
   
   
     5. A recreational vehicle in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the operating controls include an accelerator pedal and a brake pedal that are each pivotally supported on a floor pan carried by the chassis, and wherein the pivot axes of the accelerator and brake pedals are within about 10 inches from a front wheel pivot axis. 
   
   
     6. A recreational vehicle in accordance with  claim 5 , wherein the accelerator and brake pedals have foot contact surfaces that are within about 9 inches from the front wheel pivot axis. 
   
   
     7. A recreational vehicle in accordance with  claim 1 , wherein the distance between the rear wheels is smaller than the distance between the front wheels. 
   
   
     8. A recreational vehicle in accordance with  claim 1 , including a vehicle steering mechanism having tie rods that extend outwardly toward respective front wheels, wherein the tie rods are connected with the suspension outer support member and are positioned forwardly of the transverse vertical plane in which the respective upper and lower forward control arms lie.